House Speaker Mike Johnson quipped Wednesday that reports that Congressional leaders attacked him during a White House meeting this week were “pretty accurate.”
Mr. Johnson, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (R-New York), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (R-New York), will join President Biden and He met with the Vice President at the White House. Harris discussed funding for Ukraine and efforts to avert a government shutdown on Tuesday.
Those at the meeting described the talks as “intense” and “productive” and said they were somewhat relieved that Johnson had heeded their pleas to avoid Friday’s government shutdown.
When asked by Fox News anchor Sean Hannity about reports that leaders were ganging up on him, Johnson said, “Their reporting is pretty accurate. He said he was alone on the island and it was just me and everyone else in the room.”
“Sean, what the liberal media doesn’t understand is that if you’re here in Washington and you’re described as a leader who is alone on an island, that probably means you’re on the side of the American people.” he continued. . “And that’s what I did yesterday, reminding the president and everyone involved, that America’s biggest problem is open borders. The catastrophe we have right now is… It’s something that President Biden himself designed, caused, and brought about, and as I’ve said many times before, he has to deal with it with executive authority. We can’t wait any longer. .”
Johnson’s comments came just hours after Congressional leaders struck a deal to avert a government shutdown this weekend. Under the deal announced Wednesday, leaders agreed to postpone the funding deadline to late March to give more time to spending negotiations.
The agreement was announced after one Republican senator told The Hill that he was pressured by Johnson during Tuesday’s meeting.
“If you can prove it’s a 3-1 situation, you can put pressure on someone, you can influence someone, and I hope he feels that,” the senator said on condition of anonymity. “I’m doing it,” he said.
Leaders in the room also agreed to urge Johnson to pass the Senate’s $95 million foreign aid package, which includes $60 billion for Ukraine. Johnson has indicated he will not bring the package to the House floor because it lacks border security provisions that House Republicans have been demanding for months.
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